IF YOU’RE A PARENT AND/OR GUARDIAN OF A CHILD PERFORMER IN CANADA, HERE’S SOME INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW.

CHILDREN HAVE PROPERTY RIGHTS IN CANADA.

DID YOU KNOW that as a parent and/or guardian who receives money or property on behalf of a minor in Canada, you may have specific obligations under the law?

DID YOU KNOW that it’s up to you to know and understand those obligations and to act in accordance with the law?

ACTRA PRS cannot provide you with legal advice but there may be resources available to you in your province – ACTRA PRS encourages you to seek out those resources.

Saving our kids’ futures
ACTRA protects the unique interests of minors – a responsibility that your union has always taken seriously. Prior to the establishment of the Minors’ Trust we were hearing too many stories about parents using their children’s earnings so that there was nothing left for the child when they reached the age of majority. We decided that these vulnerable members need to be protected and negotiated provisions in our IPA and National Commercial Agreement to ensure that 25% of all minors’ earnings will be held in trust and available to the performer when she or he reaches the age of majority (in B.C. and California, the government administers minors’ trust programs).

ACTRA PRS provides detailed reports to all minors with earnings and mails them out semi-annually. Once a minor’s earnings reaches $5,000, 25% are remitted to ACTRA PRS. As of today, ACTRA PRS administers 1,234 minors’ trusts, with a book value of almost $6,000,000.

Under the direction of ACTRA PRS, Creative Arts invested the Minors’ Trust Funds in Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) where both the principal and the interest earned on the investment are guaranteed and every dollar invested in the Trust Fund is protected and guaranteed.

The Minors’ Trust provision
The provision first came into effect in the 1999 Independent Production Agreement (IPA), when ACTRA negotiated the following language to secure income earned by a performer who had not reached the age of 18:

A2716 Trust Account After a Minor’s total lifetime remuneration reaches $5,000.00, twenty-five percent (25%) of the Minor’s gross remuneration shall be deducted from the total payment due to the Minor by the Producer and remitted to the ACTRA PRS, which shall hold such monies in trust for the Minor upon terms and conditions consistent with the obligations of the ACTRA PRS to act as a Trustee. The ACTRA PRS shall keep track of the Minors’ earnings to determine whether the $5,000.00 level is reached.

Coogan Law
ACTRA’s Minors’ Trust is inspired by the California ‘Coogan Law’, enacted in 1939 to protect child performers from financial abuse. Coogan Law ensures that the earnings of a minor are the legal property of the minor and not his parents. The law resulted from the experience of silent picture star Jackie Coogan who earned millions as a child, but was left broke at the age of 18 because his parents had squandered his earnings. Coogan is best remembered for his role as Charlie Chaplin’s sidekick in The Kid, for the title role in Oliver Twist and was the first star to get heavily merchandised.

We’re Here to Serve You
In review, ACTRA PRS now provides:

Up-to-date information available from Minors’ Trust Administrator number of units held and unit value

If you have any questions about the Minors’ Trust please contact our AdministratorPatricia Lanca or 416 489 1311 ext 5022.

Latest Press Release:

Canada’s cultural industries will continue to thrive if government supports creative talent: ACTRA

November 25th, 2016 - TORONTO, ON — The Canadian union representing 23,000 performers in film and television from across the country has laid out its submission for Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly’s Canadian Content in a Digital World consultations.Read more >